Means and method of forming roofing tile



Oct. 4, 1932.

Filed OCT.. 13. 1931 D.'M.DENTON MEANS AND METHOD OF FORMING ROOFINGTILE 3 Sheets-Sheet l Zmventot Cttomeg OCt. 4, 1932. D, M` DENTQN1,880,872

MEANS AND METHOD OF FORMING ROOFING TILE Filed 001.. 15, 1931 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Bnnentor Gttotneg Oct. 4, 193.2. D, M BENTON 1,880,872 lMEANS AND METHOD OF FORMING ROOFING TILE Filed 0G13. 13, 1931 5Sheets-Sheet 3 Srwenfor (Ittomeg Patented Oct. 4, 1932v NETE STATEStric.

DANIEL M. BENTON, OF SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA MEANS AND METHOD OF FORMING-ROOFING- 'lIELEy My invention relates to a means and method of formingroofing tiles, and the 0bjects of my invention are:

First, to provide a method of forming tile and of carrying out themethod, wherein the tile may be quickly and economically manufactured.

Second, to provide a means of this class which operates in conjunctionwith other m, equipment now employed in the manufacture of other clay orplastic material products, such as brick, building tile, clay pipesv orthe like.

Third, to provide a method of this class I5, which produces two roofingtiles with each operation.

Fourth, to provide a means and method of this class wherein the pair oftiles formed thereby is in the form of a cylinder, whichthoughfdistorted to form a pair of tiles, readily supports itself uponan end, thus facilitat-ing uniform drying.

Fifth, to provide a novel means of shaping the tiles, which pressesparts of the tiles to the desired form and permits other portions of thetiles to settle to the desired form relying on the plastic condition ofthe material.

Sixth, to provide a means for shaping or forming tiles, in which thestrain imposed upon the plastic mass during the shaping operation isreduced to a minimum, thereby correspondingly reducing` spoilage, due tothe material cracking or breaking while being formed; and

Seventh, to provide on the whole a novelly arranged means of formingroofing tiles and a novel method particularly suited to said means,which is simple of construction and easily and quickly performed and inwhich said means does not deteriorate or get out of order.

1With these and other objects in view as will appear hereinafter, myinvention conl sists of certain novel features of construction,combination and arrangement of parts and portions, and a particularmanner of operation thereof, as will be hereinafter described in detail,and particularly set forth JII in the appended claims, reference beinghad AOI to the accompanying drawings and to the characters of referencethereon which form a part of this application, in which:

Figure l is a fragmentary longitudinal view of the feeding carriage andshaper with 55 parts and portions shown in elevation to facilitate theillustration; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of thescoring mechanisms shown in association with a pair of the Shapers; Fig.3 is a transverse sectional view of the feeding carriage taken through 33 of Fig. 1, with the various. parts and portions shown in the positionsassumed when the cutting operation is partly completed; Fig. l isanother transverse sectional view of the feeding carriage taken through4 4- of Fig. l, with the various parts in the positions assumed at thebeginning or end of the cutting operation; Fig. 5 is an enlargedsectional view through 5 5 70 of Fig. 2 showing the upper scoringmechanism fragmentarily; Fig. 6 is a sectional. view through 6 6 of Fig.2 with the shaper shown in elevation and the lower scoring mechanismshown fragmentarily; Fig. 7 is a diagrammatical view illustrating amodied cross section of the plastic cylinder from which the tile isformed; Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view taken from 88 of F ig. 2 with parts and portions 80 broken away and in section tofacilitate the illustration; Fig. 9 is a perspective View of the tileunit after the forming operation and removal of the shaper, the unitbeing shown in the position assumed during the drying operation; andFig. l() is a perspective view of one of the shapers. Y Y

Similar characters of referencerefer to similar parts and portionsthroughout the several views of the drawings. Y

The principal parts and portions of my means for forming roofing tilesare as follows: Die 1, guide trough 2, feeding carriage mechanism Aincluding a feeding carriage frame 3, guide troughgl, wheels 5, 95tracks 6, cutting wire frame 7, sleeves 8, cutting wire 9, cross member10, guide rods 11, cam l2, cam rollerfl, upper punch arm 14, upper punch15, brackets 16, levers `17', supports 18, connecting rods 19, guides20, cross 100 member 21, lower punch 22, springs 23, and table 24; ashaper B including a trough 25, receiving end plate 26, rear end plate27, side members 28, frame members 29, and spacing lugs 30; a conveyormechanism including a belt 31, pulley 32, and guide members 33; andscoring mechanisims including posts 34, hinges'35, booms 36, arms 37,guide 'feet 38, upper scoring blades 39, brackets 40, tension means 421,arms 42 and lowering scoring blades 43.

The die 1 is shown fragmentarily in Fig. 1. rlhe die may be constructedsimilarly to the conventional die used in the formation of clay pipes,and is adapted to form an annular cylinder T of clay or other suitablematerial as it is forced out through said die by any suitable means notshown. The tube of clay formed by the die passes on through a guidetrough 2 which is semi-cylindrical and extends axially from the guide asshown in Fig. 1. The clay tubes passes from the trough 2 onto a feedingcarriage mechanism The feeding mechanism A includes a frame 3. rlheframe 3 is provided with a pair of parallel disposed, horizontallyarranged side members 3a. These members support therebetween a guidetrough 4, which is semicylindrical and is adapted to telescope with theguide trough 2. Each side member is scoured at one end to an Lshapedframe including horizontally disposed legs 3b, and vertically disposedportions 3c. The horizontally disposed legs 3b and side members 3asupport wheels 5 which are adapted to travel upon tracks 6. l

A cutting wire frame 7 is provided which is in the form of a rectangularloop, the horizontal side of which extends across the two upright orvertically disposed portions 3c of the carriage frame. These portions ofthe cutting wire frame are slidably mounted in sleeves 8 which aresecured to said upright members 30. A. cutting wire 9 extends betweenthe horizontally disposed portions of the cutting wire frame 7, saidwire is connected through a suitable spring 9a to one side of saidfra-me so as to provide the proper tension upon the cutting wire.

The upright members 3c support a pair of vertically .disposed guide rods11. A cross member 10 extends between the upright members 3c and itsends are slidably mounted upon t-he guide rods 11. The cross member isprovided with a cam 12 extending upwardly therefrom. r1`he cam is highopposite the central portion of the cross member and slopes downwardlytherefrom toward the extremities of said cross member. A cam roller 13is supported from the uppermost horizontal member of the cutting wireframe 7. This arrangement causes a vertical shifting of the cross member1() with each stroke of the cutting wire frame 7.

The cross member 10 supports an 'upper punch arm 14 which extendshorizontally over the trough 4. The extended end of the punch arm 14supports a downwardly extending upper punch 15.

rlhe cross member 10 is provided with a bracket 16 near each end, eachof which is adapted to engage one extremity of a lever 17. Each'lever 17is fulcrumed intermediate its end upon a support 18. The other end ofeach lever joins a vertically disposed connecting rod 19, supported fromthe side members 3cr by means of guides 20. The lower ends of the twoconnecting rods 19 are joined by a cross member 21. An upwardlyextending lower punch 22 is removably supported intermediate the ends ofthe cross member 21 in a bracket 22a.

Springs 23 are provided which are arranged to yi-eldably hold the crossmember 10 in its raised position so that the upper and lower punches 15and 22 normally clear the tube of plastic material carried by the guidetrough 4. When the roller 13 depresses the cross member 10, the punches15 and 22 are forced into the tube of plastic material as shown in Fig.1, so as to form nail holes therein. The cross member 21 is providedwith a second bracket 216 which is positioned toward the cutter from thebracket 21a, and is also adapted to receive the punch 22. When thebracket 21?) is used, the punch 22 forms holes located adjacent thelarger end of the subsequently formed tile. The horizontal legs 3b ofthe carriage frame 3 support therebetween a fiat table 24. YThe table 24forms a support whereby a shaper B may be supported contiguous to thedischarge end of the guide trough 4. rl`he shaper B 1n addition toshaping the tube into tile units forms a carriage for transporting thefreshly formed units to a point where they may be removed from theshaper and placed on suitable drying racks.

The' shaper B includes a trough 25. At its forward or receiving end, thetrough is slightly less than a semi-circle in cross section. rlhe troughdecreases gradually in diameter from this end and gradually increasesthe extent of its curvature, so that at its other, or rear end, thetrough is approximately a halfcircle but somewhat smaller in diameterthan said forward end. A receiving end plate 26 supports the forward endof the trough and is cut away so that this end of the trough is open.The rear end of the trough 25 is supported by a rear end plate 27. Thisplate closes the corresponding end of the trough and projectsconsiderably above said trough. The side margins of the upwardlyprojecting portions of the rear end plate 27 support a pair of sidemembers 28. Each side member 28 tapers gradually towards the receivingend of thetrough. The lower margin of each side member 28 is disposed inslightly spaced assestaparallel relation with the corresponding up.- perside margin of the:V trough 25, soV as to form therewith a slit 28a,extending the lengthof the trough. A slot 27ais cut. into the side ofeach rear end plate 27 in alinement with the slots 28a. -The uppersurface designated 28?)` of eachV side member 28 forms a guide. Theslots 28al also form guides. The side members 28' extend rearwardly ofthe rear end pla-te 27 and taper to a blunt point forming at their upperand lower margins directing surfaces 280 and 28d, which: direct cuttingor scoring knives, to.y bel described hereinafter, onto the -guides28?): and guide Y slots 28a respectively. The rear'end plate 27 isprovided with rearwardly directed lugs, the upper surfaces of which formdirecting means 27?; similar to the directing surfaces 28d and 280. Theend plates 26 and 27 are connected by their lower outer corners to framemember 29 which are arranged in parallel disposed relation to each otherand enable the shaper B to be readily positioned upon a suitableconveyor, to be described hereinafter. The forward or receiving end ofthe shaper is provided with forwardly extending spacing lugs 30,arranged adjacent the upper margins of the receiving plate 26, andspaced radiallyoutwardly from the margins of the trough 25, as shownbest in Fig..6.

The shaper B is adapted to be positioned adjacent the discharge end ofthe trough 4, in such a manner that the cutting wire may pass across thereceiving end ofthe trough 25, contiguous to the receiving end plate 26,the movement of the cutting wire being conned to the distance betweenthe spacing lugs 30. The bottom of the trough 25 is approximately flushwith the bottom of the' guide trough 4, however, the radius of thetrough at the receiving'end is greater than the radius of the plastictube which is moved onto the shaper; In fact, the diameter. of the tubeT is approximately equal to the diameter ofthe trough 25, half waybetweenV the receiving and, rear end thereof.

Operation of the feeding carriage and shaper is as follows y:

The tube of plastic material T moves continuously from the die l'. Forthis reason, during the cutting operation, the carriage moves at thesame speed as the tube, thus both the carriage and the shaper at suchtime are fixed with resp-ect to the end of the tube. As soon as thecutting operation is completed, and a fresh or empty shaper ispositioned, the carriage and shaper are moved forwardly toward thediecausing the end of the clay tube to be forced onto the shaper. As thetube approaches the rear end of the shaper, the sides thereof arepressed inwardly so that the tube is elongatedalong its verticaldiameter until it assumes the position shown in Fig. 5. At the receivingend of the shaper, however1 the sides of the tube are spaced. inwardlyFig. 6. Immediately after the. cuttingoperation,.this portion of thetube begins to settle by its own weight to the position shown in Fig.6..

The shape of the trough 25v is so propor'-, tioned that it correspondsto the form which the .plastic tube of clay would normally assume werethe opposite sides thereof pressed so as to uniformly converge. Thetrough prevents the plastic tube from settling be'- yond this state. Nomeans is required to retain the upper half of thetube in the requiredshape, for the arch formed: b y this portion of vthe tube has sufficientin erent strength whereby this portion maintains its form. Thisarrangement enables two tiles to be formed in one operation. The .guidesurfaces 28?) and guide slots 28a delineate the margins of the twotiles, designated T1 and T2, formedl by` the shaper. Means areprovidedfor scoring the tiles along the marfgins of the side members 28,so that thetri.- angular material, designated T3, may. be removed orbroken away from the two tiles. This is done after the dryingV or bakingoperation.

A. conveyor is provided which includes. a belt 3l adapted to pass arounda pulley32`, located contiguous to the table 24. The belt 3l is boundedby guide members 33. When the shapers B are positioned upon the belt,the frame members 29 are contiguous tothe guide members 33, so that saidshapers are properly centered upon the belt. The Shapers are carried bythe belt past scoring mecha'- nisms which travel along the guidesurfaces 28?) and slots 28al of the shaper. The first, or upper scoringmechanism, includes a pair of posts 34 extending upwardly along: eitherside of the conveyor belt. Hinges 351 are provided on the rear side ofeach post, which are adapted t-o support booms 36. The boomsV are.rotatable in a horizontal plane. Hinged to each boom 36 is a verticallyrotatedarm 37, at the end of which is provided a guide foot 38. Theguide foot 38 supports a scoring blade 39. The posts 34 alsosupportbrackets 40, which in turn support tension means 41. Each tensionmeans includes.V a rod 41a and a spring 4l?) which yieldably holds thecorresponding booml over the conveyor belt. The rods 41a are adjustable.Suitable stops 38a are provided on the guide feet 38 and arranged toengage the extended ends of the booms 36. The tension meansw41 and stops38a permit adj ustmentV of theguide feet 38 and upper scoring blades 39,so that they are normally disposed in position for engagement by thedirecting portions 38d. The feet arefguided thereby to the uppermar'-gins of the guide members 28, whereupon tle nives 39 score the sidesofthe upper ti e l.

After passing the upper tile scoringmecha-` therefrom. asindicated bythe dottedlinesfin YTveyor, a pair of hinges 35, and supporting booms36. Each boom supports an arm l2 tothe end of which is secured' a lowerscoring blade 43. The lower scoring mechanism also includes tensionmeans 4:1. These means, to-

' gether; with set screws 42a, or the like, provided on the arms 42,position the lowering scoring blades 43 so as to enter the slots 28a.After passingthe scoring mechanisms, the Shapers are stood upon thespacing lugs 30, which enables. the tile units therein tosettledownwardly, so as to rest in the position shown in Fig. 9. The tile unitis then re'- moved to the drying room and dried in this position.

.As shown in Fig. 7, the die l may be arranged so that the tube whenextruded therfrom is oval in shape as indica-ted by X. This form isparticularly desirable, when the clay .is relatively poor in quality andis unable to stand much distortion ywithout breaking. It can be seenfrom an examination of Fig. 7 that relatively little distortion of thetubeis required in order to form the smaller end of the tile, designatedY. As the settling of the tile, which forms the larger end thereof, isdue to theinherent plasticity ofthe clay tube, a relatively greatdistortion may take place at this end without causing the tube to crack,although the quality of the clay be poor, thus the end, designated Z,may vary considerably from the original contour of the tube. Y Though Ihave shown and described a particular construction, combination andarrangement of parts and portions, and have set forth a particularmethod of forming roofing tiles, I do not wish to be limited to thisparticular construction, combination and arrangement, nor to the method,but desire to include in the Vscope of my invention, the construction,combination and arrangement, and method, as set forth in the followingclaims. p 7

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is: Y

l., In a means for shaping rooiingtile, a former including a pair ofconverging wall members arranged to engage opposite sides cfa plastictube.

. 2.In a means for shaping roofing tile, a formerincluding a pair ofconverging wall members arrange-d to engage opposite sides of a plastictube, and a trough associated with said wall members, said trough shapedto conform to the normal contour of said plastic tube when the oppositesides of said tube con# form to said wall members;

3. In a means for shaping roofing tile, an

' open longitudinally tapered trough, ar-

ranged to act upon a plastic tube, the smaller end of said trough beingof less lateral dimension than said tube, and the large end being ofgreater lateral dimension than said tube. -v J 4. In a means for shapingroofing tile, an open longitudinally tapered trough arranged toreceive'plastic material in the form of a tube of normally constantcross section equal to the cross section of said trough intermediate itsends.

5. VIn a means for shaping roofing tile, a former including convergingside members arranged to engage opposite lateral sides a horizontallydisposed plastic tube, and a trough shaped to conform to the normalcontour of .said plastic tube when the opposite sides of said tubeconformv to said side members, said trough forming a support for theunderside of said plastic tube.

6. In a'means for shaping roofing tile arranged to act upon a plastictube having normalty a constant cross section, a forming troughincluding converging vside walls, and a bottom` portion conforming tothe normal contour of the underside' of said plastic tube when said tubeis tapered to. correspond to said side walls, the upper side of saidtrough being open, whereby the upper portion of said plastic tube isfree to form a tapering arch corresponding to the convergence of saidside walls. Y y

7. In a means for shaping roofing tile, a former including a pair ofconverging wall members arranged to engage o-pposite sides of a plastictube, a trough associated with said wall members, said trough shaped toconform to the normal contour of said plastic tube when the oppositesides of said tube conform to said wallmembers, and scoring knife guidemeans delineating the margins of tiles formed by said former.

8.- In a means for shaping roofing tile, a former including convergingside members arranged to engage opposite late-ral sides of ahorizontally disposed plastic tube, a trough shaped to conform tothenormal contour of said plastic tube when the opposite sides of said tubeconform to said side members, said trough forming a support for theunderside of said plastic tube, `and scoring knife guide meansdelineating the margins of tiles formed by said former.

9. In' a means for shaping roofing tile arranged to act upc-n a `plastictube having normally a constant cross section, a forming troughincluding convergingA side walls, a

bottom'portion conforming to the normal contour of the undersiderof saidplastic tube when said tube is tapered to correspond to said side walls,the upper side of said trough being open, whereby the upper portion ofsaid plastictube is free to form a tapering arch corresponding to theconvergence of said side walls-and scoring knife guide means arranged toact upon a plastic tube having normally a constant cross section, aShaper including converging forming means arranged to engage oppositelateral sides of said tube, whereby the upper and lower portions of saidtube form a tapered arch and channel respectively, said arch and channelbeing similar in form and constituting a pair of tiles, a. supportingmeans for said channel, and scoring knife guide means delineating themargins of said tiles.

12. A method of forming roofing tile consisting in, forming a tube ofplastic material, then converging the lateral sides of said tube towardsone end thereof, whereby the upper and lower sides thereof divergetoward said end and form tapered tile portions, and then scoring saidtube so as to delineate the margins of said tile portions.

13. A method of forming roofing tile consisting in, forming a continuoustube of plastic material having a constant diameter, then directing theend of said tube longitudinally, then contracting the lateral dimensionand expanding the vertical dimension of said end, then severing saidtube inwardly from said end, and then laterally expanding and verticallycontracting the lastly formed end of said severed tube.

14. A method of forming roofing tile consisting in, forming a continuoustube of plastic material having a constant diameter, then directing theend of said tube longitudinally, then contracting the lateral dimensionand expanding the vertical dimension of said end, then severing saidtube inwardly from said end, then laterally expanding and verticallycontracting the lastly formed end of said severed tub-e, whereby theupper and lower portions of said tube form tiles, and then scoring saidsevered tube so as to delineate the longitudinal margins of said tiles.

15. A method of forming roofing tile consisting in, forming a. tube ofmoist, plastic material, then converging the lateral sides of said tubetoward one end thereof, whereby the upper and lower sides thereofdiverge toward said end and form tapered tile portions, then scoringsaid tube so as to delineate the margins of said tile portions, and thenstanding said tube on end and drying said tube while so positioned.

16. A method of forming roofing tile consisting in, forming a continuoustube of moist, plastic material having a constant diameter, thendirecting the end of said tube longitudinally, then contracting thelateral dimension and expanding the vertical dimension of said end,thensevering said tube inwardly from said end, then laterally expandingand vertically contracting the lastly formed end of said severed tube,whereby the upper and lower portions of saidtube form tiles, thenscoring said severed tube so as to delineate the longitudinal margins ofsaid tiles, then standing said severed tube on said lastly formed endand then drying said severed tube while so positioned.

17. A method of forming roofing tile consisting in, forming a tube ofplastic material with an initially constant cross section, thendiminishing the lateral dimension and increasing the vertical dimensionof one end, and expanding the lateral dimension and reducing thevertical dimension of the other end, whereby said lateral sides and saidupper and lower sides of said tube converge in opposite directions, andthen scoring said tube so as to delineate arcuate sections therel of.

1S. A method of forming roofing tile consisting in, forming a tube ofplastic material with an initially constant cross section, then taperingthe lateral sides of said tube allowing the upper and low-er sidesthereof to expand in accordance with the taper of said lateral sides,and then scoring said tube so as to delineate arcuate sections of saidupper and lower sides.

19. A method of forming roofing tile consisting in, forming a tube ofplastic material with an initially constant cross section, then taperingthe lateral sides and vertical sides of said tube in oppositedirections, and then scoring said tube so as to delineate arcu, atesections thereof.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at San Diego,California, this 25th day of September, 1931.

DANIEL M. BENTON.

